Medical facilities, such as hospitals, include imaging modalities for creating medical images of patients. For example, an x-ray image can be created using a radiography device. A CT image can be created using a computed tomography device. An MRI image can be created using a magnetic resonance imaging device.
A radiologist interprets the medical images, either at the modality or at a radiologist workstation. An image viewer application at the workstation receives the medical images and presents the medical images to the radiologist. The radiologist reviews the medical images and provides a report based on an analysis of the medical images. For example, the radiologist may provide a diagnosis of a particular medical condition, such as a gun shot wound or a tumor, based on the medical images.
Typically, the medical images are in a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format. The DICOM format includes metadata that describes the medical images. The metadata can, for example, describe an ordering and/or grouping in which to present the medical images. The image viewer application can receive the medical images and present the medical images in the ordering and/or grouping described in the metadata.
In some cases, the radiologist workstation where the images are interpreted is within the hospital or medical facility. In other cases, the workstation is remote from the hospital, such as in a teleradiology system. In a teleradiology system, the hospital or medical facility transmits the medical images to a teleradiology system. Radiologists may review the medical images at the teleradiology system or the teleradiology system may transmit the medical images to a remote radiologist's workstation.